Speaking in the Bronx on Monday, President Barack Obama acknowledged that fundamental racial biases continue to plague America's police forces and courts. Persons of color "experience being treated differently by law enforcement," the President said, noting that police stops, arrests, charges and incarcerations all skew along racial lines. "There's no dispute," he asserted.
Mr. Obama's comments came during a speech at Lehman College--one that heralded the creation of a new nonprofit organization dedicated to growing education and employment opportunities for the nation's most disenfranchised neighborhoods. An offshoot of his existing My Brother's Keeper initiative, which strives to provide young men and boys of color with the resources needed to access college, a career and ultimately a better life.
“This will remain a mission for me and for Michelle not just for the rest of my presidency but for the rest of my life,” he said, hinting that work against economic and social inequality may come to define his career after leaving office.
Speaking of himself and his wife Michelle, Mr. Obama noted, “We see ourselves in these young men. I grew up without a dad. I grew up lost sometimes and adrift, not having a sense of a clear path. The only difference between me and a lot of other young men in this neighborhood and all across the country is that I grew up in an environment that was a little more forgiving.”
The President once again addressed recent police violence and protests directly, remarking "That sense of unfairness and powerlessness, of people not hearing their voices, that's helped fuel some of the protests we've seen in places like Baltimore and Ferguson and right here in New York. The catalyst of those protests were the tragic deaths of young men and the feeling that law is not always applied evenly in this country."
“Which is why in addressing the issues in Baltimore or Ferguson or New York, the point I made was that if we’re just looking at policing, we’re looking at it too narrowly,” the President asserted. “If we ask the police to simply contain and control problems that we ourselves have been unwilling to invest and solve, that’s not fair to the communities, it’s not fair to the police.”
The New York Times reports that the new My Brother's Keeper Alliance nonprofit has already tallied over $80 million in backing from private, corporate sources including donations from American Express, Deloitte, and News Corporation. "The money will be used to help companies address obstacles facing young black and Hispanic men, provide grants to programs for disadvantaged youths, and help communities aid their populations," the paper notes. Additional leadership roles will be played by both business executives and public figures including John Legend, Alonzo Mourning, Jerome Bettis and Shaquille O'Neal.
Watch President Obama's full speech below, which begins at 1:07:35.
